16. Rise Earlier

Basically, I mean to get out of bed earlier. I wake up every 6:30 AM, but I want to do it even earlier. The best for me will be 4:30 AM. When the sun rises, I rise.

Am I crazy? No. It might not be the routine for everyone, but if you want to do more, perform better and live a more fulfilled life, you should probably give it a try.

To wake up earlier, you have to sleep earlier. 7 to 8 hours of sleep are just perfect, which mean I should sleep at around 9 PM. (Now, I get to bed around 11 PM).

Imagine what you could get done early in the morning? You could meditate, workout, read in the morning. Then, planning the day when everyone is sleeping. Get started to crush it when everyone is still struggling to get out from the bed.

I found this extremely useful for people who run side business while having a full-time job. Your side business mostly never happen because you’re too tired after a day of work (every worse if you don’t like your job).

If you get up earlier, you can deal with your side business first. You can deal with tasks that matter to you first, while you’re at your peak state.

Unless your job required you to work late, then you don’t need to get up at 4, 5, or 6 AM. My point is, get up earlier. If you usually wake up at 11 AM, make it 8 AM then.

People said you should sacrifice your sleep in order to be successful, I rather cut out unnecessary TV and drinking sessions.

Notes: I wrote about why and how to rise earlier last year. There are some changes on my timetable compared to the time of writing, but the techniques still work.